System Harbinger : Legacy Earth 5, page 31
“Shouldn’t’ve asked her that!” one of the engineers called from the other side of the room.
“He wasn’t talking to you, DEREK!” Stephanie snapped before looking at Lance and putting on the most forced smile he’d ever seen. “I appreciate the offer, but I think I can handle it from here.”
Lance crossed his arms and cracked a grin, reading the terrible poker face of his teammate.
"You’re afraid I’m going to screw everything up, aren’t you?”
“Terrified, like, even your presence has me on edge that this whole thing is going to be one massive malfunction!”
“Then I’ll leave you to it,” Lance said, turning from his engineer. “Don’t blow a hand off.”
“Not a funny joke when it’s an actual possibility,” she countered.
Lance checked on Mattias. He was back to almost one hundred percent. He was able to do almost every variation of pushup imaginable with little to no irritation in his chest. Dexter continued to teach poker to the rest of the non-human crew, who picked it up and warmed to it quickly. Kolar helped repair malfunctioning Galio medical equipment when he reported to med bay for his weekly physical.
Over the next several days, the crew played a ball of slam tournament. To everyone’s surprise, the engineers ended up winning the whole thing. Hrafn squad played gun range Horse with Kolar and Valdivia. Mattias made a noticeable effort not to come off as detached as before.
While Kolar and Valdivia were always the first two eliminated, they progressed further and further each round they played. Given the amount of downtime the crew had, Lance spent time with Valdivia learning about Jarog culture and history. She even helped him identify several written phrases in her language.
Team building hand-to-hand combat training occurred when the gun range wasn’t in use. Lance called down anyone who knew how to fight to get the most well-rounded experience and skill development as possible.
To everyone’s surprise, Dr. Crestbow dropped Dexter before the starting bell’s reverberations finished. Dusting his hands off, he made a comment about the importance of pressure points and returned to the medical bay. Taunts and jeers were tossed at the giant, who lay motionless on the ground for several minutes, completely unable to move.
Valdivia went over knife combat, displaying how deadly an archeologist could be given the right tools. Kolar taught a Galio version of jujitsu that focused on using an opponent’s flexibility against them. It was like watching a crab beat an octopus at times.
“Cap, we’re approaching the rendezvous,” Justin called out over the intercom.
“What took so long?” Dexter asked. “Don’t we have the fastest ship in the galaxy?”
“Yeah, but beating the Manifest Destiny here by a factor of days isn’t really the best strategy when secrecy is involved,” Lance replied. “Nothing more conspicuous than a ship floating around a galactic slingshot and not emitting a distress call.”
Hrafn squad filed into the elevator. Lance made it stop at the hangar where he kicked them out and told them to get ready. They obeyed. Going up to the bridge, the SOAT stopped at the cockpit just in time for them to drop out of their space jump.
“Man, that’s a beautiful sight,” Lance muttered at the two black holes dancing in front of them.
Their accretion disks swirled around one another, being thrown into artistic warps and bends from their gravitational fields interacting with one another. Between them both was the narrow river of black that they rode to rewind time.
“Computer, take a picture of this and project it into my cabin.”
“Done. Where would you like it projected?”
“At the head of my bed.”
“Request complete.”
“Thank you,” he said before looking at Drentlaw. “Any sign of the Manifest Destiny?”
“I’m getting a reading that suggest the compression of space in front of a fast-moving object,” the cartographer replied. “Not sure what to make of it… I actually didn’t think our sensors could pick that up.”
“These aren’t human sensors,” Lance replied. “Justin, bring us about to face this incoming object.”
“Coming about,” the pilot replied.
Pulling themselves in a wide circle, Justin made sure to stay as far away from the black hole’s event horizon as possible. Getting into position, he slowed to a stop. A small blue aura was visible in the distance. It rapidly approached before appearing to snap to an almost immediate stop. It was the Manifest Destiny floating peacefully before them.
The primary communication for the ship beeped, indicating it was Leon on one of Justin’s displays. He turned and looked at Lance. The captain motioned to his multi-tool. The pilot pressed two fingers on the inbound transmissions. It beeped as a list of names appeared below it; the first two were Lance and Com’s Center. The inbound message was dropped on Lance.
“Have you been waiting long?” Leon asked as his image appeared on Lance’s multi-tool.
“About five minutes, sir,” Lance replied. “I trust your trip went well?”
“Smooth as can be expected,” he replied. “Why don’t you come over? We’ll exchange the data, and you can get on your way.”
“Yes, sir. Hrafn squad is already ready to move out. I just have to send my report of the previous mission to the Alcazar, and we’ll be on our way.”
“How long do you think it’ll take? I don’t like sitting out here in the open like this.”
“Two minutes, sir. I sent it from the station in my quarters down to my command stand. It’s having our route overlaid into the reports, then I’ll send it.”
“Copy that. Be here in ten,” Leon ordered before closing the channel.
“Can you even get there in ten minutes?” Justin asked.
“We’re going to have to,” Lance replied.
Turning, he contacted Hrafn squad and the dropship pilot as he jogged to his command center.
“Leon wants us over there in ten. Sending my report to the Alcazar then be right down. I want to leave the second that door shuts.”
“Copy that,” the pilot replied. “Pre-flight checks are already done, and engines warmed. We’ll be ready for you.”
“Thank you.”
Lance closed the channel and looked at the map’s progress. It was nearly completed at ninety-eight percent but not moving.
“Computer, what’s taking this so long?” he asked.
“Compression of entire mapped galaxy is a large task,” the computer replied.
“We don’t need every star and planet in this map, just the path we took. How long will it take to recalibrate those parameters and reupload?”
The loading bar vanished. A screen flickered over his report before showing a file attached.
“Request complete,” the computer replied.
“Next time, do that,” Lance suggested as he pulled the document over to his multi-tool.
Getting into the elevator, he made his way down to the hangar. As he did, the captain used the new, secure line Darla sent him and submitted his report. When the doors opened, he jogged toward his dropship. Climbing in, he shut the door behind him and slammed his fist on the hull twice while climbing into the cockpit.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” Lance ordered, sitting in the gunner seat and strapping in.
THIRTY-NINE
THE DROP
Setting down in the Manifest Destiny, Lance was the first off their dropship. Several guards approached with weapons at rest against their chests. The SOAT deployed his helmet as the rest of his team stepped out. Turning, he looked back at the pilot.
“Anything goes sideways, you get out of here; we’ll find our way off this boat.”
“Do you really think something’s going to go wrong on this ship?” the pilot asked.
“There’ve been no fewer than two times people in uniform have tried to kill him on this ship,” Dexter replied. “And with the Veles involved, it’s best to prepare for the worst-case scenario.”
The door shut behind them and sealed.
“I’ll keep her warmed up, then.”
Lance gave his pilot a thumbs-up before turning back to the guards. He eyed their weapons and worked out more than one way to disarm at least two of them should anything be tried.
“Where’s my father?” Lance asked, holding up a hand. They stopped in their tracks.
“He’s in his quarters,” one of them replied. “He ordered us to escort you to him.”
“I know how to get there. I was stationed on this ship before,” Lance countered as he continued to eye the weapons, his stomach itching at their presence. “I’d prefer not to be in an elevator with you all, considering the cargo we’re bringing.”
“We were ordered to escort you… we’re escorting you or you can get back in your ship and fly away.”
Lance’s right hand twitched shut. It was about to do it again before Stephanie’s hand landed on his shoulder.
“Let them escort us,” she whispered. “They stay in front, and if they do end up being less than friendly, the new upgrades I made to our multi-tools outclass those guns any day, especially in closed quarters.”
Lance sighed reluctantly. Flicking his thumbs, he nodded.
“So be it, but you stay in front of us, and before you quote procedure to me, I know it. I also outrank you. I’m ordering you to stay in front of us and do not turn around.”
“So be it,” the guard leader said as his squad turned. “Follow us.”
As they moved through the wide, open deck of the ship, Lance eyed all the catwalks above them. Dozens, if not hundreds of miles of paths nearly a hundred feet off the ground, meant for maintenance and repair. He was now painfully aware of its potential as a sniper nest.
“Mattias, keep your eyes up,” Lance said through a secured SOAT channel. “There’s a lot of perch space above us.”
“Already on it,” Mattias replied.
“Dexter, if things go south in that elevator, don’t deploy your fist inside an enclosed space,” Stephanie added, through the same secure station.
“Why not?” Dexter asked.
“If she tells you not to, just don’t do it, okay, Dex?” Lance chimed in.
“Yes, sir.”
Stepping into the elevator, Hrafn squad waited for the guards to enter first. Following them, they moved to the back and stayed behind their escorts. They started whispering to one another. It was clearly through a secure line connecting their helmets as well since their voices were so muffled.
Lance’s heartrate spiked. His nerves twitched as his body prepared itself for a fight. Glancing at Stephanie, then Mattias, they both nodded. One of the guards turned to address them. Hrafn squad kicked into action.
Lance kicked the knee out from under the guard in front of him. Grabbing the guard’s head, he pulled it to one side, ready to break it at a moment’s notice. Deploying his plasma blade, he pointed it at the guard who’d started to turn and face them.
Stephanie’s and Mattias’ multi-tool weapons shot out of their bracers. They were the usual blades, only enhanced with a glowing plasma edge. All four guards froze, dropped their rifles, and put their hands up.
“I told you not to turn around!” Lance barked.
“I’m sorry, I just wanted to let you know that you’re an inspiration and I hope to be a SOAT like you one day too!” the guard whimpered.
“Addison, you idiot, I warned you not to do that!” the guard who Lance held snarled.
“Lance Warder, what are you doing!” the familiar scolding tone of a parent boomed from before them.
Lance looked up to see his father glaring at them in disbelief and disappointment.
“These guys have been vetted at least a dozen times; let them go!”
Lance retracted his blade, as did Stephanie and Mattias. Letting go of the guard leader, his face warmed with embarrassment.
“I’m sorry about that, gents,” Lance muttered.
“We’re not all gents,” a feminine voice rose from behind one of the helmets.
“And lady,” Lance added before looking at Addison. “Keep on your toes and make sure you push yourself and I’m sure you’ll make it one day… I’d work on my reaction time if I’m being honest, though.”
“Don’t torture the boy,” Leon scolded “And get in here. Guard, you stay in there. No one accesses that elevator.”
“Yes, sir,” they all said in unison.
Hrafn squad stepped into his office. Lance watched as the doors shut before turning toward his father.
“What’s with the armed escort, Dad?” he asked, crossing his arms. “Is there something you’re not sharing with me?”
“I’ve been keeping this under wraps, but three of our men were found dead and stripped on the Alcazar,” Leon whispered. “Their credentials and uniforms stolen.”
“So, you’ve got stowaways, likely Veles… that’s fantastic!” Lance muttered while shaking his head. “And you had us come to the ship? There could be an armada heading our way right now!”
“We’ve been jamming all outbound messages aside from the one I sent you,” Leon replied. “No one knows we’re here.”
“Again, except for the three Veles operatives that are skulking around your ship with the ability to do who knows how much damage to this boat,” Mattias chimed in.
“Every vital system of this ship is guarded by no less than eight men on twenty-four-hour supervision. We were able to ID the men; they were part of the laundry staff. They haven’t reported for duty. Otherwise, we would’ve taken them in by now,” Leon explained. “My hope was, and I’m fairly sorry about this, to use you as bait. Since they clearly want you, I was hoping having you aboard would flush them out.”
“And you couldn’t inform me of this because it could scare them off.” Lance nodded with a frustrated understanding.
“Exactly. Also, I do have a team closely watching and scanning your dropship to make sure no explosives are planted on it.”
“They won’t blow it up, they want him alive,” Dexter cut in, everyone turned to look at him. “But, I mean, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.”
As he corrected himself, Lance turned back to his father. He selected the file Illume gave to him and optioned to relay the information through device-to-device contact. Holding out his multi-tool, he nodded at the device.
“Here’s the information your team was able to gather,” he stated.
Leon tapped his multi-tool against Lance’s. The file transferred with no problems, being deleted from the SOAT’s equipment as it did.
“Thank you. I have a close circuit decryption device that’ll get this ironed out for me,” Leon said as he walked over to his desk and pulled what looked like a multi-tool casket out from under it. “Hopefully, it’ll give us some useful information about the Reeves, Veles, and with any luck, Lincoln.”
“Keep an eye out for anything earmarked as conduit,” Lance interjected. “They said it’s apparently a very dangerous device.”
Leon took his multi-tool off, opened the casket, and slid the bracer inside. As he locked it shut, an option was projected above the box asking if it should start the decryption process. Leon selected YES. A completion bar slowly started to fill where the words once were.
The commanding officer picked up the casket. He walked over to the far side of his room where he placed his hand on the wall. It slowly opened to him, revealing a thick safe tucked in the wall. Leon scanned his eye, spoke his name, and gave a prick of blood from his thumb. It opened for him.
He placed the casket inside, shut the safe, locked it, and closed the wall in front of it. Turning back to Hrafn squad, he approached the team. Looking them up and down, he gave a pleased nod.
“You all did an excellent job on this last mission. I’m sure the Alcazar will have a new assignment for you soon enough.”
“I think we could use some R&R if I’m being honest,” Mattias muttered as he ran his hand over his breastplate where he’d been stabbed.
“And I’m inclined to agree with them,” Lance replied. “I’ve already selected a place where there’s never been Veles activity and where their parent company doesn’t even have a facility.”
“In this new wider galaxy, that doesn’t narrow anything down,” Leon replied. “Are you going to tell your old man where you’ll be going?”
Lance scoffed and shook his head.
“No offense, sir, but you’ve got three spies on this ship. I’m not giving the location of our holiday to anyone until I’m one hundred percent sure no one’s listening in,” he countered. “You get the infiltrators, and we’ll talk.”
“Shouldn’t be long; we have a team that’s going deck by deck and checking everyone’s credentials. It’s only a matter of time before we catch them.”
“I’m looking forward to hearing that you got them, then,” Lance replied. “Where are you all headed?”
“We’re going back to Mars. There are some updates that are going to be added to this boat using technology discovered at your girlfriend’s dig site.”
“How’d you know they were dating?” Stephanie asked.
Lance shook his head in embarrassment. He was glad for his helmet hiding his face.
“I’m his father, and command of everything outside of the Sol system at the moment. Very little happens that I don’t know about.”
“I bet it also helps that they were on a date when the Alcazar got hit, and that’s in official reports too,” Mattias chimed in.
“That did speed things along,” Leon replied with a nod.
“So, with our business concluded, what were you thinking as far as us being bait?” Stephanie asked.
“I was thinking about doing a meet and greet with the first human SOAT in the mess,” Leon explained. “Make it loud and clear that you’ll only be meeting people there, then you’ll be going straight to the hangar to leave.”
“Empty out the hangar from all non-essential personnel so it’d make me an easy grab,” Lance pieced his father’s plan together with a nod. “My only issue with it is we were seen coming onto the ship with no weapons. If we leave armed, it’ll raise some alarms and could spook your infiltrators.”
